Machine for cutting soles



(No Moden) Y 4 sheets-sheen 1.v

. D. F. HARTFORD.

MACHINE FR CUTTING SOLES.

' No. 568,757 Patented oct. 6, 1896.

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(N'o'Model.) I 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' D. P. HARTFORD.

MAGHINE PoR CUTTING SOLES. No. 568,757. Patented Oct'. 6, 1896.

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-(No Model.) I

' D.F.HARTP0RD.

MACHINE POR CUTTING SOLES. No. 568,757. vPatented Oct. 6, 1896.

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4 Sheets-fSheet 4. D. I. HARTFORD.

MACHINE POR CUTTING SOLES.

Patented Oct. 6, 1896.

mmm!! l lllll//l//l MTNESEES UNiTED STATES ATENT rricno DAVID FRANK HARTFORD, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING SOLES.

SPECIFICATION' forming part of Letters Patent No. 568,757, dated October 6, 1896.

Application filed December 14, 1894. Serial No. 531,768. (No model.)

T0 @ZZ whom t Ymy concer/t:

Be it known that I, DAVID FRANK I-IART- -FORD, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improved Machine for Cutting Soles and other Irregular Forms, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, in which- Figure l is a front elevation of one of my machines. Fig. 2 is a plan, and Fig. 3 a section, on line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a plan of certain of the parts, illustrating one feature of my invention and explained below. Figs. 5, 6, 8, and 10 illustrate the knife-carriage. Fig. 7 is a plan with certain of the parts removed, illustrating one feature of my inven tion and explained below. Fig. 9 is a detail illustrating the catch for the starting-lever, as explained below.

My invention is an improved machine for cutting soles and other irregular forms from leather 0r other sheet material; and it cousists, iirst, in novel'means for moving the knife-carriage about the form or pattern; secondly, in an additional adjustment of one or of both the supports for the pattern; thirdly, in a mechanism 'for varying the speed of the knife-carriage as it travels about the form, and, fourthly, in a new combination of knifeholder and roller or tracer by which the knife is caused to cut a sole in accordance with the form. 1

In the drawings, A is a ring-gear supported and guided by three rolls u, (best seen in Fig. 7,) the studs carrying these rollers being fast to the frame of the machine. lhe gear A is best made as a bevel-gear to mesh with the bevel-pinion a on the main shaft a?. By making the gear A in the form of a ring and supporting it on rolls ct, I provide room for the blocks b to support the table, which is, as usual, composed of two parts B B', each provided with a guide-strip o b2 to receive the pattern-supports D D. The carrier d d of the supports D D also extend through the ring-gear A. These pattern-supports DD/ are adjusted, as usual, nearer together or farther apart to suit the sizes of the pattern of the sole to be cut, each being fast to its slide-block (i7 d8, sliding between the guidestrips b b2 and the parts B B' of the table.

In machines of this class a table B B' and heel and. toe supports D D, which form together a guide for the main rollers of the knife-carriage, have long -been known, and the knife-carriage has been carried about the pattern by a beveled gear and a belt or chain, as, for example, in my Patent No.v 424A1I77, dated April l, 1890; but by making the gear A a ring and supporting it upon rollers a I make a much more compact and simple machine and greatly improve it, not only as to construction, but also as to operation and efficiency; and this is one feature of my invention. The supports D D" each carry a roller (Z2, and the chain C, secured at one end to the box C and at the other end to a coiled spring within the box C', extends about the rollers d2, all substantially as in my patent above referred to, so that no detailed description is here necessary. The box O is fast, of course, to the ring-gear A, so that when ringgear A is revolved the chain O compels the knife-carriage K to slide on table 13 B', the main roller lo of the knife-carrier being in contact with the guide-strips b b2, except when they move in the curved end slots formed by the periphery of the rollers (Z2 and the curved'wall of the slide-blocks (Z7 (ZS of support D, or of support D', as will be clear to all skilled in the art, for the principle is the same as in other machines of this class, the difference being that I use a ring gear A and thereby allow room for the supports b of table B B and for the carriers (Z d of the supports DD within that gear.

In order to cut different sizes of soles, the pattern-supports D Dl must be adjustable, and it is desirable that both should be moved simultaneously but in opposite directions. This is done in my improved machine by the lever d3 and links d4 di, so that when lever d3 is moved in one direction on its fulcrum d6 (see Figs. 3, 4, and 7) link'l dl will be pulled and link d5 pushed, thereby moving carriers d and d nearer together, a movement of lever d3 in the opposite direction pushing link d4 and pulling link d5 and thereby separating carriers d and CZ', and as the supports D D move each with its carrier they are adjusted for varying sizes or lengths of patterns. Heretofore the heel and toe pins g g', by which the form or pattern G is held, have been fixed,

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respectively, to the supports D and D', and consequently the links d* and di) have both been plain links, but in my improved machine I iiX the toe-pin g to a carriage g2, which can slide on support D, and use an adjustable link di for moving carrier ci and support D', and it is the colnbination of the toe-pin g' with a carriage g2 and an adjustable link di which constitutes the second feature of my invention and enables the support D to be adjusted after the form G is in place on the pins fj g', so as to bring the axis of the roller (i2 on support D in proper relation with the toe of the sole, and this is especially important in that style of sole shown in Fig. 2 and in all soles whose toe part is narrow. The primary adjustment of the supports D and D', so that the pins g g will receive the pattern G, is made by the proper movement of the lever (Z3, substantially as in other ma chines of this class, but after that primary adjustment is made and the pins g and g tied together by the pattern G the cam-lever di) is turned to lengthen or shorten link di and move carrier tl and support D accordingly until the axis of roller Z2 of support D is in proper relation to the toe ol pattern G. In cutting soles this additional adjustment is necessary only at the toe; but with other patterns it may be required at either or at both ends, and of course in such eases the link (Z4 should be adjustable, as is the link d5,- but this feature of my invention is the additional adj ustment of the pattern-support and may obvi ously be used for either one or for both of the pattern-supports.

In order to start the machine, the operator presses down upon the hand-lever Il', and the iirst eli'ect of that pressure is to throw the latch end of lever II' over lever 1I, while the next eiieet is to force levers II, ll', and .II2 downward, and as lever H2 is fast to rocksha ft h4 that rock-shaft is turned in a direction to pull on rod h5 and thus force clutch member It against it', compressing spring h1", while the end of lever II is moved out oi' the path of trip 7L and lever II2 is locked by lever 113. This motion of rock-shaft h4 also brings its small end against the hooked end of lever j and makes it certain that leverji is brought into position to unlatch the clutch members jiji, which are held unclutched by the springlatch r7" catching on lever js, so that the machine is driven at speed by the direct en gage ment of h2 with 71]; but when trip J, fast to gear A, strikes the dog fast to lever j that lever is moved far enough to unlatchj', and level- 7'3 is moved on its fulcrum by the spring on rod j, and as rod jl carries with it not only lever y, but also clutch member j, as will be clear from Fig. 2, the action of trip J on lever ,j connects the clutch members j and ji; but when lever j is thus moved by trip J it also moves lever II endwise far enough to trip lever H3 and release lever H2, thereby unclutching it and h2, but not applying brake N. lVhen ,ji'j are clutched and h h2 unclutched, the speed of the machine is greatly reduced, for member 7h then drives, through sprocket S, member j, member j drives memberj, and member drives member h through sprocket S', and the speed of member 7L and of shaft a2, fast to member 7L', is much less than when shaft d2 is driven by Contact of members h' and h2. This slow speed continues until members j and j? are separated and members h and 7b2 brought into contact, so that when trip J is properly adjusted the movement of the knife about the toe is so slow that a pointed toe can be eut. This automatic mechanism for decreas ing the speed of the knife-carriage as it travels about the form may of course be made to operate at any part of the form by adjusting trip J. This feature of my invention is not herein claimed, as it forms the subject-matn ter of another application, Serial No. 581,599, filed March 2, ISQG.

After the machine is slowed down by the operation of lever it may be stopped by putting lever 7" into the position shown in Fig. 2, which will unclutch ,7'7 and stop the machine. lVhen the machine is in operation at full speed, lever H2 is depressed and locked by lever H3, but lever ll is brought back to place by the spring on its outer end, as clearly shown in Fig.

The k nite-carriage consists 0l." two main parts, one oi which, K, is connected to the chain C and is guided bythe rollers k, which travel against the inner faces of the guidestrips b b2 and about the roller cl2 as gear A revolves, the bottom of the part K resting and sliding upon the table B B', (see Figs. 5, (5, and 8,) and all this is too well known to need further description. On this bed K is fixed a headed stud 7s', held by a set-screw k2 and connecting link 7e3 with bed K. rlhe lilik 7e3 is pinned to the outer end of plunger or ram kl; and ram 7c is pinned to lever as, the short arm of which lever is connected by rod it to spring k7, rod 7s passing through the abutment of spring it?, which abutment is a shelf fast to bed K. The purpose of these devices is to press the ram it" endwisc bythe force of spring k7, and also to give the ram la an easy motion endwise and without confining the `ram in a groove, thereby guiding the ram so that the path over which the knife-edge moves shall be a straight line, and yet not cramping the ram by confining it in a groove; and mounting.y the ram in this way is one feature of my invention.

In order to retract ram it" the lever its is turned on its 'fulcrum and through link kf moves lever kf on its fuicrum, thereby compressing spring k7, as well as retracting ram lel, and lever las brings up on stop 7.310, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 5.

In the inner end of ram 1&4 the pin m is secured, and the lower part 'In' of swivel-head m m2 swivels on pin m. This lower part m IOO IIO

is connected to the upper part m2 by the screw m3, thus making the two parts m and m2 practically one part held to ram 754 by the pin fm. The upper part m2 carries a block on its upper surface, on which block the knife-holder m4 is placed and to which it is secured.

The tracing-roller M is mounted upon the three wheels n n n2, which are pinned to the swivel-head. The purpose and effect of this arrangement is to bring the strain of the tracing-roller on the swivel-head nearer the swivel-pin m, for if the tracing-roller were held to the swivel-head by a journal at the center of the tracing roller that journal Would necessarily be farther from the swivelpin; for, practically, the pin which receives the strain of the tracing-roller and connects it with the swivel-head (shown in Fig. 6 as coincident with axis of screw m3) must be about as close to the axis of the swivel-pin lm as is the axis of the wheel n, and if the tracing-roller were connected to the swivelhead by a single journal, that journal would be much farther than is desirable from the swivel-pin.

The operation is as follows: The pattern G is placed upon t'he pattern-studs g and g', the supports D and D having been adjustedto receive it, and the support D is adjusted to bring the axis of its :roller d2 in proper relation with the sole when the shape of the sole requires that adjustment. The lower clamp is then put in place and the stock put on and clamped, all as usual and as will be clear from Fig. I. Hand-lever H is then depressed, carrying with it lever H and lever H2 and clutching h and h2, and the machine starts, and lever H rises as soon as trip h gets out of the Way, While lever H2 is locked in its depressed position by the lower end of lever H3 so long as the machine remains at full speed, that is, until trip J actuates leverj, unclutching h' and h2 and clntchingj6 and j', as above described; but when the knife has been carried by the toe at the slow speed the attendant again depresses levers H, H, and H2, and H2 is locked in its depressed position by lever H3 until trip It moves lever H endwise, thereby unlocking lever H2 and unclutching h' and h2, as before described, also at the same time applying brake N and slightly distending spring 17.7, so that the knife is carried slightly past the point where it commenced to cut and then retracted against stop-lever hs, so that the knife is left in its proper position for the neXt operation in spite of the fact that it has been carried past that position to fully complete the out.

The machine can be stopped by hand when at slow speed by moving lever 7"5 and when at full speed by moving lever H3.

In Figs. 5, 6, and 8 I have shown the knife 7c supported in a holder m4, which consists of a base with an arm extending from it and engaging with the upper end of the knife 7o.

In cutting soles from the blanks it is important to support the knife lo at both ends, and this double support of the knife in machines of this class is an important feature of my invention. The knife-holder proper is the base 'm4, and the lower end of the knife is clamped in that base in the usual way; but I have added the arm m5, in which the upper end of the knife is also clamped, and I have made this arm detachable, as it is in the Way in cutting from the strip or race.

W'hat I claim as my invention is-` I. In a machine for cutting forms the coin` bination of a ring-gear; studs and Wheels Within that gear for supporting it; blocks Within that gear for supporting the table of the machine; that table; pattern supports also within that gear; a pattern carried by these supports; a knife-carriage on the table, and a connection between the ring-gear and the knife-carriage; all substantially as described.

2. In a machine for cutting forms the pattern-supports, in combination with means for adjusting both to receive the pattern, and additionalmeans for further adjusting one of them to suit an angle or quick curve of the pattern, all substantially as described.

3. In amachine for cutting irregular forms a knife-carriage consisting of a bed; an endwisemoving plunger or ram; a swivel-head, connected by a pin to one end of the ram; a knife-holder on the swivel-head; and two links k3 and kf to connect the plunger and bed and guide the plunger in its endwise movements; all substantially as described.

4. In combination a swivel-head; a knife carried by it; a pin on which the swivel-head swivels; a ring-tracing roller; and wheels mounted on the swivel-head, and supporting the ringtracing roller 5 all substantially as set forth.

DAVID FRANK HARTFORD.

Vitnesses: I

O. R. MITCHELL, J oHN R. Snow. 

